Sunday, June 19, 2005
yavash yavash öğreniyorum
By Thursday of last week the desire to escape to the beach was so strong I almost considered taking Friday off and bussing it to Mersin and finally Kizkalesi, about an hour away from Adana. Our grand plans to flee from the city all came crashing down when Adriano (Don Caffaso) fell ill on Friday night. That same night we treated ourselves to some killer Adana kebap while being serenaded by a live Turkish band who I presume were there because of the the wedding party sitting at the neighboring table. I have yet to learn about some of the instruments that were used. They used a couple of string instruments that I have never seen before and then there was the doumbek. Definitely, before I depart from these shores I will get one of my own and maybe even find someone to teach me the correct technique. How I love dreaming.
In a rapid turn of events, the focus of the weekend shifted dramatically to a number of different things, the most important of them being food. We experimented with a Turkish recipe Grace got a hold of (Imam Baildi- stuffed eggplant) and this was the outcome.
I finally got my fix of Nargile at this cafe situated behind my apartment. Its custom to accompany Nargile with çay (chai\tea); I prefer Effes or su (water). To make up for our previously failed attempt at escaping from the hustle and bustle of Adana, with much stronger conviction, we left for Tarsus by train on Sunday morning. Really, the train ride was quite short, about the same distance as travelling from Colaba to Khar. It was here that Cleopatra met Mark Antony and St. Paul was born. We moved on to the şelale (waterfall) from there and stopped for lunch. Generous amounts of fresh bread (similar to naan but with sesame seeds on it) are served with all meals. Also, yoghurt is eaten with most meals I have noticed either as Ayran lassi) or like a raitha (with cucmber and all). I had oven roasted lamb cooked with butter, garlic, tomatoes and peppers and washed it down with Tuborg (Danish).
On the way back to the train station I stepped into a convenient store to pick up some water. With my sun glasses and African beads I sure as hell looked foreign. On noticing this, the lady behind the deli requested me to try out some fresh baklava straight out of the oven. That stuff melted in my mouth and I made this quite obvious, so she gave me seconds. I managed to say "nice to meet you" and "thank you" in Turkish to her. She packed up four pieces for me, but only charged me for 2. Once back in Adana, we watched Brasil lose 0-1 to Mexico.
My project at work has taken a different turn, one that will involve expanding our current business to Iraq. Kaan explained to me how the war in Iraq has increased business for the company, not exactly what I wanted to hear. I saw some posters around the city that are protesting the American military base here in Adana, mostly youth groups who feel strongly about the issue.
Kaan's english is improving much faster than my Turkish. I need to make a conscious effort at learning constantly and avoid speaking in English. I am still getting used to this whole men kissing men business. With the ladies, its but a pleasure.
In a rapid turn of events, the focus of the weekend shifted dramatically to a number of different things, the most important of them being food. We experimented with a Turkish recipe Grace got a hold of (Imam Baildi- stuffed eggplant) and this was the outcome.
I finally got my fix of Nargile at this cafe situated behind my apartment. Its custom to accompany Nargile with çay (chai\tea); I prefer Effes or su (water). To make up for our previously failed attempt at escaping from the hustle and bustle of Adana, with much stronger conviction, we left for Tarsus by train on Sunday morning. Really, the train ride was quite short, about the same distance as travelling from Colaba to Khar. It was here that Cleopatra met Mark Antony and St. Paul was born. We moved on to the şelale (waterfall) from there and stopped for lunch. Generous amounts of fresh bread (similar to naan but with sesame seeds on it) are served with all meals. Also, yoghurt is eaten with most meals I have noticed either as Ayran lassi) or like a raitha (with cucmber and all). I had oven roasted lamb cooked with butter, garlic, tomatoes and peppers and washed it down with Tuborg (Danish).
On the way back to the train station I stepped into a convenient store to pick up some water. With my sun glasses and African beads I sure as hell looked foreign. On noticing this, the lady behind the deli requested me to try out some fresh baklava straight out of the oven. That stuff melted in my mouth and I made this quite obvious, so she gave me seconds. I managed to say "nice to meet you" and "thank you" in Turkish to her. She packed up four pieces for me, but only charged me for 2. Once back in Adana, we watched Brasil lose 0-1 to Mexico.
My project at work has taken a different turn, one that will involve expanding our current business to Iraq. Kaan explained to me how the war in Iraq has increased business for the company, not exactly what I wanted to hear. I saw some posters around the city that are protesting the American military base here in Adana, mostly youth groups who feel strongly about the issue.
Kaan's english is improving much faster than my Turkish. I need to make a conscious effort at learning constantly and avoid speaking in English. I am still getting used to this whole men kissing men business. With the ladies, its but a pleasure.
# posted by Surya Swamy : 11:30 PM
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dude men dont kiss men in turkeye. they are tricking you i thtink. better watch out man. they played that trick on me when i was first introduced to the turkish culture but theni got the hang of it
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